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I was about to berate you for dissing Javascript when it had come so far in the last few years. Then I rid the second paragraph and L'dOL. But, hang on a mo, Java is my main income earner... :-)
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paxdiabloOct 28 '08 at 22:55

Java has an implicit this scope for non-static methods, and implicit class scope; JavaScript has implicit global scope.

Here are some features that I think are particular strengths of JavaScript:

JavaScript supports closures; Java can simulate sort-of "closures" using anonymous classes. (Real closures may be supported in a future version of Java.)

All JavaScript functions are variadic; Java functions are only variadic if explicitly marked.

JavaScript prototypes can be redefined at runtime, and has immediate effect for all referring objects. Java classes cannot be redefined in a way that affects any existing object instances.

JavaScript allows methods in an object to be redefined independently of its prototype (think eigenclasses in Ruby, but on steroids); methods in a Java object are tied to its class, and cannot be redefined at runtime.

JavaScript, despite the name, is essentially unrelated to the Java programming language, although both have the common C syntax, and JavaScript copies many Java names and naming conventions. The language was originally named "LiveScript" but was renamed in a co-marketing deal between Netscape and Sun, in exchange for Netscape bundling Sun's Java runtime with their then-dominant browser. The key design principles within JavaScript are inherited from the Self and Scheme programming languages.

Javascript was originally called Livescript, and the world would probably be a better place today if they hadn't renamed it!
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Greg HewgillOct 28 '08 at 22:13

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I doubt it was to cause confusion - what's the benefit to the company of that? I suspect the intent was to ride on the success of Java, although the effect was what you stated.
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paxdiabloOct 28 '08 at 22:58

"ride the success of java" by calling something unrelated with a similar name? That sounds very much like "causing confusion for marketing purposes" to me.
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ddaaOct 28 '08 at 23:04

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Sun tried this naming trick again with the "Sun Java Desktop", which was essentially a branded version of Gnome and had nothing to do with Java.
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Dan DyerOct 29 '08 at 0:07

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Yeah, and it worked. @Greg Hewgill, the world might be a better place, but Javascript probably wouldn't be where it is today.
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YarJan 12 '09 at 5:32

JavaScript is an object-oriented scripting language that allows you to create dynamic HTML pages, allowing you to process input data and maintain data, usually within the browser.

Java is a programming language, core set of libraries, and virtual machine platform that allows you to create compiled programs that run on nearly every platform, without distribution of source code in its raw form or recompilation.

While the two have similar names, they are really two completely different programming languages/models/platforms, and are used to solve completely different sets of problems.

A common misconception is that JavaScript is similar or closely related to Java; this is not so. Both have a C-like syntax, are object-oriented, are typically sandboxed and are widely used in client-side Web applications, but the similarities end there. Java has static typing; JavaScript's typing is dynamic (meaning a variable can hold an object of any type and cannot be restricted). Java is loaded from compiled bytecode; JavaScript is loaded as human-readable code. C is their last common ancestor language.

Javascript isn't just for HTML pages, Java6 now includes it, BIRT uses it for report scripting - I'm sure that there are other non-HTML uses beyond these two.
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paxdiabloOct 28 '08 at 22:56

You're right. With the development of Rhino, and some of the other developments you mentioned, Javascript has come pretty far out of the browser sandbox.
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Bill the LizardDec 30 '08 at 14:24

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Scripting is simply one particular kind of programming... instead you should say perhaps that Java is a compiled programming language and javascript is a scripting or interpreted programming language.
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BlacktigerAug 23 '10 at 18:38

They are independent languages with unrelated lineages. Brendan Eich created Javascript originally at Netscape. It was initially called Mocha. The choice of Javascript as a name was a nod, if you will, to the then ascendant Java programming language, developed at Sun by Patrick Naughton, James Gosling, et. al.

However, if you need a scripting language for your Java application, Javascript is actually a really good choice. There are ways to get Javascript running in the JVM and you can access and manipulate Java classes pretty seamlessly once you do.

Javascript is dynamically typed, interpreted, and runs in a browser. It also has first-class functions and anonymous functions, which Java does not. It has direct access to web-page elements, which makes it useful for doing client-side processing.

Don't be confused with name..
Java was created at Sun Microsystems (now Oracle).
But, JavaScript was created at Netscape (now Mozilla) in the early days of the Web, and technically, “Java-Script” is a trademark licensed from Sun Microsystems used to describe
Netscape’s implementation of the language. Netscape submitted the
language for standardization to ECMA (European Computer Manufacturer’s Association)
and because of trademark issues, the standardized version of the language
was stuck with the awkward name “ECMAScript.” For the same trademark reasons,
Microsoft’s version of the language is formally known as “JScript.” In practice, just
about everyone calls the language JavaScript. The real name is “ECMAScript”.